The last few weeks have been very busy out at the hanger and I am feeling it. Despite this we have been able to get through all the scheduled maintenance we have had coming in. Aircraft after aircraft, one comes in, one goes out, and another comes in. During this time we have had aircraft come in for unscheduled maintenance. And this always puts extra strain on us, as we are busy with other aircraft, but to have one come in to get something fixed that is planned to be flying does make things interesting. It has been really good that we have been able to work through it all. Close to two weeks ago on the Friday, it was probably the busiest I have ever seen before. Out of the fourteen aircraft we operate, we had six of them in the hanger and outside for some sort of work.
Following on from this Friday, the following Monday saw us receive a Twin Otter for a C check (carried out every 500 flying hours) which is the biggest check we do. At the moment we only have three Otters operating in the country. One is in Australia undergoing a C check at MAF’s hanger in Mareeba, as we don’t have the man power at the moment. So with these two C check’s, that meant only one of the three Otters was flying, which is a huge strain on our flying program and means that one area of the country has no coverage while we carry out this C check in Mt Hagen. This does put a bit of pressure on us, as normally a C check takes at least 3 - 4 weeks on average. Last week we worked 0730-1800 to try and achieve more work in less days. And the guys working on engines carried on working on Saturday for engine runs and adjustments.
And praise God we were able to carry out the service in record time, the aircraft was ready last Wednesday afternoon. But a change of events saw this become yesterday morning (Friday). But to finish the check in a week and a half is a big accomplishment. And following the completion of the check, saw work commence and continue on four other aircraft. So the maintenance carries on.
August 16th, 2008 at 5:44 pm
Always nice to see new photos Matt but can we see more photos with you actually in them!
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